Eggplant Rollatini

This particular blogpost is my first real eggplant journey.  My adventure in eggplant turned out pretty delicious, according to me.  My kids and husband didn't go near it, and as a matter of fact, nor did my book club.  BUT... I liked it.  And that is something.  Let me know what you think :)

The thing with me, is, that I'm an absolute foodie.  I have eaten my way, with my husband, through foreign lands, delighting in familiar and exotic tastes.  But when it boils down to it, I'm a terrible cook.  I can transform a foolproof crock-pot and rice dish into a crunchy, overcooked disaster, and make it look even more unappetizing inedible.  This is with no effort on my part at all!  I'm a natural.  

This is a terrible plight for a foodie.

And something must be done about this appalling state of affairs.  So, I'm striving, with all my might, to fix the disaster in the kitchen.  

The other hindrance in my cooking is the children.  They really, really, are.  Do you think my 3 and 6 year old and going to eat an Eggplant Rollatini?  No!  So, after years months of trying, I gave up and have been mostly serving rice and chicken, with sauteed broccoli. There is only so much rice, chicken and sauteed broccoli a professed foodie can stomach.

So, in attempts to resolve this impossible situation, I'm turning to beautiful blogs and cookbooks for inspiration, and attempting to follow them step by step.  Here is my eggplant attempt number one. 

from Forks over Knives, The Cookbook

Ingredients
3 whole cloves garlic, plus 4 cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup Vegetable Stock
2 large eggplant, stemmed and cut length wise into 1/2 inch slices
1 cup millet
salt to taste
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced, small
1 celery stalk, diced small
1 carrot, peeled and grated
6 cups packed chopped spinach
1/2 cup minced basil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast, optional
ground black pepper to taste
2 cups favorite pasta/tomato sauce

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C)
2) In a small bowl with a fork, mash the 3 cloves of garlic with soy sauce
3) Combine the mashed garlic mixture with the vegetable tock to make a marinade.
4) Place the eggplant slices on a baking sheet and brush with some of the marinade.

5) Bake for 10 minutes.  Turn the slices over, brush with more of the marinade, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the eggplant is tender.  Remove the eggplant from the oven and set aside.

6) Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add the millet and salt. (How gorgeous is millet??)

7) Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 20 minutes or until tender

8) Place the onion, celery and carrot in a large saucepan and saute over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes.

9) Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan.  Add the remaining minced garlic and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the spinach, basil and nutritional yeast (if using) and season with black pepper.  

10) Cook until the spinach is wilted, the remove from the heat, add the cooked millet, and mix well

11) Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Divide the millet mixture among he baked eggplant slices and roll each slice over the millet mixture. Place the eggplant rolls, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish.  

12) Cover with the remaining tomoato sauce and bake, covered, for 15 minutes